A family from Wigan are raising funds to fly their gravely ill mum home from Florida after she became sick on holiday. Since staying in hospital Patricia Bunting,
Patricia Bunting, 76, had visited Florida with her family since the 1980s, and saved up to go on one last big holiday. But while she was in Florida Patricia fell sick and has been hospitalised for six weeks.
Due to her ill health, Patricia cannot fly back on a commercial flight. Instead, she will need to be brought home on a specialised flight with medical supervision, which her daughter Emma said will cost tens of thousands.
Emma explained that a commercial flight has a maximum oxygen level of five litres, but her mum currently requires much more than that meaning that she cannot take a commercial flight. Now, Emma has been researching different providers who can bring her mum home with the proper medical support.
Emma told the Manchester Evening News: “I love my mum, we all love my mum, it kills me knowing that she’s over there. She’s missed so much, her grandkids are asking when’s grandma coming home.
“We just want my mum home. We want her home safe. She just wanted to make some happy memories.”
However, flying Patricia home on air ambulance from Florida is no cheap undertaking. Emma explained that the lowest quote she has so far is around £80,000, while others have been over £100,000.
The urgent need to bring Patricia home was emphasised when she and her family had a scare while she was in hospital. Emma revealed that medics had become concerned when they thought that Patricia had shown signs of sepsis.
Emma said: “At one point over there they were going to put her in a hospice. Her foot went black, and they thought she was going to get sepsis.
“My mum has circulation issues. I said I need time to think about it. The day after, her foot went better. She’s been really poorly in hospital.”
Emma hopes to raise enough funds to pay for the flight home. She said: “She doesn’t ask for anything. My mum’s fought through thick and thin just to make sure her kids have what they need.”
Patricia’s family is still appealing for donations and hoping to speak to organisations that could support medical repatriation for her. For more information see the GoFundMe page here.